Eighteen special Pesticide Disposal Collection Days are planned across the state to help farmers and homeowners properly dispose of unwanted pesticides. The special collection days are a partnership between the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program and the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.
- This Spring our Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program has 18 special collection days planned in cooperation with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.
- This is a great program because it lets farmers and homeowners properly dispose of unwanted pesticides, which keeps them out of our landfills and trash.
- Residents might not know that North Carolina was the first state in the country to establish a Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program.
- Since 1980 when the program started, we have collected close to 5 million pounds of unwanted pesticides.
- These are always well-attended events because I know people want to do the right thing and make sure pesticides are disposed of properly and this provides a way to do so safely.
- As awareness has grown, so has participation. In fact, we have seen our 10 largest collection years in the past 10 years. It’s hard to believe, but we still get in products from as far back as the 1940s.
- We are off to a great start already this year, a couple of weeks ago, we collected 8,000 pounds of pesticides over three counties in a week.
- I am proud of our staff with the Pesticide Disposal Assistance program, and I am grateful we received funding support from the N.C. General Assembly in the 2023-2024 budget.
- 18 dates are already scheduled in April and May for Catawba, Currituck, Dare, Gaston, Granville, Hartnett, Hertford, Macon, Mecklenburg, Onslow, Pender, Richmond, Robeson, Rutherford, Stanly and Watauga counties.
- We are also working on tentative dates in Alamance, Ashe, Carteret, Craven, Davie, Northampton, Pitt, Rockingham, Wilkes and Yancey counties.
- We will post finalized dates on our homepage at www.ncagr.gov.